An explosive second time around for The Mavericks, playing at Musikfest Cafe

The first time the Mavericks were together, the band members discovered there can be drawbacks to major success.

"People here [in the United States] don't really know that at the millennium, we had a huge hit in the UK, probably our biggest hit we've ever had," drummer Paul Deakin says. "It was a number one song there, I think the number three song for the whole year, was 'Dance The Night Away' off of [the 1998 album] 'Trampoline.' It sold like 500,000 singles, something crazy.

"Then it was we just kept going over there, kept touring, kept doing press, TV shows and everything, milking and milking and milking it, as you do when you have a hit like that. It was at the end of 10 years of touring here. And [lead singer] Raul [Malo] kept saying, we need a break, we need a break. Possibly we could have said OK, break, but we didn't."

Instead, the Mavericks broke up. Well, not right away. The group first went on hiatus around 2000 and then made a self-titled album that was released in 2003. Then came the break-up.

The grind of touring that burned out band members as "Dance The Night Away" was enjoying its UK chart run was a major culprit in the split. And Malo felt he wanted to explore some musical directions he didn't think he could pursue with the band, which was known for its lively mix of country, rock and Tex-Mex music, all topped off by the soaring vocals of Malo, who was frequently compared to the great Roy Orbison.

For quite awhile, it looked like the split would be permanent. Malo released five albums between 2006 and 2010 (his 2001 solo debut was released during the Mavericks hiatus). And several band members, for the most part, got out of music altogether.

Keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden became a curator at an art museum. Bassist Robert Reynolds worked at a digital company. Deakin, while he played some with David Mead and Jason White, spent most of his time in a different line of work — carpentry.

"I hooked up with another musician who did the same thing, Mike McAdam, who was the original guitarist for Steve Earle and the Dukes," Deakin says. "He worked for a guy who was sympathetic to musicians and I kind of came in."

In fact, Deakin built a successful business and would likely still be spending most of his time doing carpentry if the Mavericks — with guitarist Eddie Perez also on board — had not unexpectedly come back into the picture.

That's what happened after the group got an offer to reunite for a summer tour.

"The idea originally was to do a reunion tour of 30 dates," says Deakin.

But Malo had an even bigger idea.

"He thought it seems a little disingenuous to go out and cash in on old Mavericks songs and things like that," Deakin says. "He said 'I think we should do a record.' I was like 'Really?' "

So the wheels went into motion for the making of what became the newly released Mavericks album, "In Time."

What also helped make a new album feasible is that Malo already had a batch of songs that he thought would suit the Mavericks. He had also talked to the head of Big Machine Records/Valory Music Co., Scott Borchetta, who had known Malo since the Mavericks were signed to MCA Records early in the band's career. Borchetta committed to releasing whatever album the Mavericks made.

"He [Malo] quotes it as being a perfect storm scenario of having the songs, being the right time where we are in our lives as a band, Scott Borchetta comes along, all of those things played into it," Deakin says.

Malo's strategy for making "In Time," was unusual — actually daring. The band wouldn't get together for any work before going into the studio. No live shows, no rehearsals, no pre-production — no preparation of any sort — even though the band members hadn't played a note together in more than seven years.

"He said he wanted it to be kind of organic chaos, where we're kind of flying by the seat of your pants and not knowing exactly what was going to happen," Deakin says of Malo, who produced "In Time." "Perhaps it was a test to see what it was going to do. It's a crazy place to do it, to put a hundred grand [for studio time] into trying something."

But looking back, Deakin says Malo made the right move.

The approach created a real feeling of excitement in the studio.

"We went in the first night to just get sound, and we recorded three songs that night," Deakin says. "Literally Jerry Dale was driving in from Jacksonville on the night we were just getting sound. And [we called him] 'Hey, we're going to cut something. Hurry and get here.' He literally walked into the studio after not playing keyboards for seven years and that was 'Back In Your Arms,' the first song on the record."

By the end of the second day at the studio, the Mavericks had finished nine songs.

The magic the Mavericks enjoyed when the band first was together was still there. "In Time" is one of the band's best albums, which is no small statement.